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Hasselblad announces 24MP Lunar - an 'ultimate luxury' mirrorless camera

Sep 18, 2012 at 13:59:46 GMT

CAMERA NEWS E-MOUNT HASSELBLAD MIRRORLESS

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Photokina 2012: Hasselblad plans to release a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera utilizing Sony's E-Mount. The Hasselblad Lunar, which is expected to cost around €5000 (~$6500) appears to share a lot of technology with Sony's recent NEX-7 model, including the same 24.3MP CMOS sensor, OLED 'True Finder' EVF, and the 'TriNavi' navigation system. The Lunar, which is set for launch in the first quarter of 2013, will be available 'in a choice of standard models plus a variety of exclusive hand grips and precious materials on special order.'

Press release:

Hasselblad plans Lunar launch

Hasselblad, manufacturer of the world’s most advanced medium format camera system, has announced a revolutionary plan to market a state-of-the-art, Italian-designed ‘ultimate luxury’ mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera early next year.

Luca Alessandrini Hasselblad’s New Business Development Manager said: “The Lunar is a celebration of the passion that the company’s founder Victor Hasselblad had for photography. We’ve developed this model in the traditional way, using handmade wooden prototypes to ensure superior ergonomics and functionality. This is a camera for both serious photographers and enthusiasts who aspire to shooting with a Hasselblad.”

He added: “Lunar, which can be used in fully automatic or fully manual mode, has been designed to be easy to use and versatile but with all the advanced technology employed in top DSLRs. For the first time the market now has a camera embracing traditional Hasselblad state-of-the-art image capture combined with stunning Italian design features.

And for the first time ever we are using carbon fiber, titanium, wood, leather and precious metals – including gold. The camera grip itself offers unparalleled ergonomics and has been developed to embrace both compact E-mount and the larger professional A-mount lenses.”

The Lunar, which is set for launch in the first quarter of 2013, will be priced circa 5000 Euros and will be available in a choice of standard models plus a variety of exclusive hand grips and precious materials on special order.

Hasselblad will showcase a unique ‘Lunar experience’ at photokina. Visitors to the stand (Hall 2.1 Stand A-021/B-020) will see a ‘snapshot’ of latest work-in-progress designs and wood- en models, purpose-built to demonstrate the company’s pioneering ‘ideal luxury’ camera vision.

Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO said: “It has always been my ambition to enable all fans of the iconic Hasselblad brand to have an opportunity to own one of our cameras. The company mission is to develop exceptional products at the very top end of the market segments in which we operate. In 1962 astronaut Walter Schirra took the first Hasselblad camera into space. Walter had painted the 500C’s metal surface black to minimise reflections. Now, in celebration fifty years later, we have developed Lunar – an aesthetically and ergonomically beautiful piece of camera art, complete with colour options and an evocative vintage look and feel, for photography lovers down here on planet Earth.”

Key Lunar features will include:

DSLR-like performance thanks to the highest technology APS-C 24.3 MP sensor with 25AF points focusing matched to an Ultra fast Processor with real time image process ing and accurate RAW to JPEG translation.
Accurate composition for both still and video in any light conditions thanks to the Ultra-bright 3” high definition display and revolutionary OLED viewfinder that guarantees superior contrast and ultra fast response.
One-touch instant full HD video recording to shoot in Auto or fully manual mode. Focus and exposition control plus the connection for an external microphone and the option to use larger A-mount lenses for professional video creation.
Instant shutter response (0.02 second release time lag) ten frames per second and an extremely Wide ISO 100 -16000 range.
The camera software includes an exceptionally comprehensive set of creative styles, picture effects, scene selections and the smart ”intelligent face registration” making the shooting experience even more fun.
Auto HD, DRO and Anti-motion blur mode.
An Innovative TriNavi system for DSLR-like tuning, two flash options and Anti dust system complete the Lunar state-of-the-art package.

Added Dr. Hansen: “This new model is the result of meticulous engineering research, culminating in the creation of an unprecedented camera which underpins the Hasselblad mission to pioneer and produce supreme quality across all our products.”

Additional Images:

Comments

Total comments: 758

Maybe I should make a clip on body kit for NEX7 that turns the Sony into a Hasselblad and sell it on eBay.

2 upvotes

Did we just get punk'd? Where's Aston?

1 upvote

*Ashton

0 upvotes

Something that will be worth nicking more than any Smart Phone. Don't shoot alone with this camera ;)
This will e the camera every Pro Footballer will have on their holidays.... Oh and every Russian oligarch...

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

1 upvote

This one looks and feels and works like luxury - unlike the obvious junk Leica sells at insane prices.

6 upvotes

And you know this HOW?

1 upvote

oh dear ... what were they thinking?

0 upvotes

They weren't!

1 upvote

I think Hasselblad lately loosing business and their engineers went idle.

0 upvotes

It is designed to blend in your environment and make you feel at home when you are shooting the ghettos.

1 upvote

Amazing, you would think this was the first time some people here have been exposed to luxury goods. This is in "if you have to ask the price you cannot afford it" territory, it's not for you and me. Accept it and move on. Do you yell at Rolls Royce for making expensive cars? No, you just buy something else.

1 upvote

If Rolls Royce stuck big steer horns and leather fringe mudflaps on a Ford Fiesta, gave it a Rolls Royce logo, and charged $100,000 for it, yes, we'd yell at them.

To toss your own comment back at you, do you have any experience with successful luxury goods?

5 upvotes

Yes but at least there is quality in the RR product. This is a re-packaged SO SO Sony consumer camera. What am I saying a Luxes is a Toyota in disguise.

0 upvotes

"So so Sony camera"??? Dude, you should really try it. So far it's one of the best mirrorless cameras on the market. No idea why comparison to Toyota. It's more like a BMW of a mirrorless.

0 upvotes

First you laughed at the $2700 RX1. Then you should cry about the $6500 APS-C Lunar.

1 upvote

The full frame RX1 looks now very affordable... Sony is the laughing winner...

0 upvotes

Let's wait and see. The RX1 is a huge design, make it with a 24-50zoom, full pocketable and sell it half price and it sells like fresh baked muffins. Compliments to Sony for that one, despite the price. A Zeiss lens of the kind is a 1800$ without the RX1 behind it, but, who asked for design and that lens anyway. It makes out of this camera what it should not be on one side and much more than it should be on the other. Not a tourist P&S and to good to be one.

Comment edited 28 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Love those soft Sony lenses!

3 upvotes

Yeah Zeiss especially

3 upvotes

A complete act of Lunar'cy.

3 upvotes

Hence the name?

0 upvotes

Silly, they don't pimp lenses. Silver lense on brass colored body is a major design flaw :)

1 upvote

Agree. Also, never, ever attach a Sony badged lens on such a camera. That should be outlawed.

1 upvote

They will sell Zeiss lenses handpainted by Swedish engineers. :)

1 upvote

Pentax did that in the past. Gold camera and lens, with crocodile skin in some places. Now it's a hugely expensive collectible ;)

0 upvotes

Should work out as well as the colored cameras Hass came out with when they were desperate in the nineties.

3 upvotes

Now, I wish I had gone to Photokina. I knew there wasn't going to be anything besides the XE-1 and the FF cameras but this...this would have made my trip!

I wonder how Alpa will respond....

3 upvotes

I can't help but think of this quote from the movie Dodgeball:

"I just threw up in my mouth a little"

-Carl

P.S. Lunar- yep, it belongs on the moon.

Comment edited 9 minutes after posting

5 upvotes

I'm gonna collect all the different handgrips.

0 upvotes

Good luck with that - there are LOTS on show.

0 upvotes

TELL ME IT'S APRIL THE FIRST ...PLEASE!!!!!!

3 upvotes

OK. It's April first. No foolin'

0 upvotes

Lunar or... lunacy?

2 upvotes

aahahahahahahaha ahh ahahahahaha
sorry couldn't help it

8 upvotes

OK, let me get this straight. Leica redesigns the M, adding useful capabilities, improving performance, and manages to lower the price $50 in the process (which is big news for Leica) while actually making an already beautiful camera even a little better looking.

Meanwhile, Hasselblad figures out how to take a good looking, functional NEX-7, drown it half to death in a big pool of ugly, and skyrockets the price to the same level as a Nikon rangefinder...

3 upvotes

A black Nikon SP with 20mm and 25mm lenses!

0 upvotes

If it works for car manufacturers Ford/Lincoln Nissan/Infinity Toyota/Lexus I guess someone is thinking this will work for cameras.

1 upvote

It's works for normal car, here it's more "pimp my cam", except the 3000w subwoofer in the trunk.

0 upvotes

I'll give 10 to 1 odds that Hassy manages to FIX THE VIDEO BUTTON

1 upvote

Wood shouldn't appear on any camera smaller than 4"x5" format.

4 upvotes

Quite the oddest contraption I have ever seen. Doubt they'll have many takers.

0 upvotes

like sony nex 7 got gangbanged by aliens and predators...

26 upvotes

like sony nex 7 got gangbanged by aliens and predators...

Audjam You have a way with words! Thanks for the laugh!!

"The force is confused with this one"

1 upvote

This is really sad. Hassy must really be desperate. Fuji cameras are looking better all the time.

2 upvotes

My mother always said: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything. So; wow theses are great, now I know what my future nightmares will be about, and; I can't wait to show these to our grandchildren, they love horror shows.

2 upvotes

I would never, ever expect such a mistake in all senses from Hasselblad. While I understand their wish to conquer new markets capitalizing on their brand's name, this postioning strategy (disguising a NEX-7) is very very poor. The design is hideous. The original NEX-7 is much more sober, "honest" and pro-looking. The public they're aiming with such a price tag is not a fool !!

2 upvotes

They could make "501C" type camera with FF for this price. I expected a FF rangefinder to really compete with Leica M... But this is really crazy... This price for APS-C?!? Who will buy this camera instead of the NEX?!?

0 upvotes

Those buttons are ugly. Kinda like plastic switches of a toy.

0 upvotes

This is no different than the fops who buy Hermes edition Leicas.

4 upvotes

Now you know how to find an idiot among a bunch of photographers..he will be carrying the freakiest camera ever made!! :))

2 upvotes

6500 USD (5000 Euro) for an APS-C camera that looks like a space craft crashed into a coffee table? You could buy a D800 and 2 or 3 premium lenses, a markedly better investment.

I'm a huge fan of Hasselblad MF film cameras, but they seem to really be lost in recent years.

7 upvotes

> 6500 USD (5000 Euro) for an APS-C camera that looks like a space craft crashed into a coffee table?

Very well put. You should be an art critic. :) With description like this, they should be able to sell quite a few of these. Why buy another D800? Everyone has one already. Boring.

0 upvotes

this is a historic moment, I think. Decades later we'll be talking about what made HB go bankrupt and everyone would be saying "remember when they introduced Lunar at photokina2012?"

2 upvotes

I dunno, I think that the majority of people who own 'blads anymore are just the type to own this gear. There are a couple working professionals but, as with Leica, they are not the main source of sales for Hassy.

1 upvote

Hasselblad was bankrupt several times already.

1 upvote

latest news on Hassleblads newest partner http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/5975182347/photos/2219821/holga-blad-h4-pan

1 upvote

NEX in drag, brought to you by the design studios of Dennis Rodhman.

6 upvotes

Ugly is the word. Another word that comes to mind is hideous. Oh well. The world is full of all kinds of people, and maybe somewhere there are a few people who would like one of these.

4 upvotes

I think this is a joke, but it will not be a joke when e-mount take full frame... I can see what is coming. I mentioned hasselblad when I talked about the Sony fixed 35mm lens with leaf shutter. I think hasselblad is ready to move to ff 35mm for pro use. Everybody complain about the high price of the ff Sony fixed lens camera. Wait til u see the hasselblad version of it... A hasselblad 35mm ff camera with leaf shutter interchangeable lens is coming. And Sony will also sell under Sony label.

1 upvote

if that hand-grip is actually polished wood then this camera would be crap and only fools who buy such cameras (including Leica C-Lux and D-Lux) as a fashion statement would buy it.

0 upvotes

The designer should be shot.

0 upvotes

Did Hasselblad miss the memo that you shouldn't unveil exoteric camera designs a day after Leica announces a new high-end viewfinder body?

0 upvotes

The Aston Cygnet of cameras...

1 upvote

Über fugliness!

0 upvotes

the rich get richer...and weirder...if they have this kind of money to spend, it should be going to the AIDS crisis in Africa, or reducing hunger, etc., not Gold cameras with exotic hardwood handles. Disgusting...fiddling while Rome burns...

5 upvotes

It's a sad sad world we live in

4 upvotes

This is the ugliest camera I've ever seen.

1 upvote

Google koni-omega

2 upvotes

But part of the ugliness of the Koni-Omega was what made it work so well.

0 upvotes

Crikey that makes my mother- in- law look good and she is UGLY!!!

2 upvotes

Be careful about insulting your mother-in-law as that's pretty much a future glimpse of your wife!

1 upvote

This camera is ugly, and my mother in law is hot!

0 upvotes

So my Pentax K-01 looks quite respectable! Now I can use it in public!
Ray :-)

2 upvotes

Yes, very few of us will want a $5000 NEX-7. But what if this was $200.00 option?

There is quite an accessories aftermarket in the auto industry, and it appeals to more than a few psychological profiles. There are those who want to hot-rod their 'rides', others who like the idea of replacing some sterile interior plastic surfaces with the sensuality of rich wood. Mini owes a lot of their success to their decision to market individual customizations of interior and exterior options as a 'cool' exercise in expressing ones individuality.

And yet we have a 55 billion dollar camera industry with almost zero marketing of this aesthetic concept. Most customizations are utilitarian. About all we see marketed by manufacturers are a few cameras with a choice of exterior colors.

Given today's computer-assisted 3-D scanning and 3-D sculpting technology, I am curious how successful a business model built around these ideas would be. $55 billion is a gigantic market.

1 upvote

How can you resist those knobs? :-)

Alas! When a well-respected company produces an up-market product based on image alone, then I fear the end is coming!

0 upvotes

Suddenly, the Pentax K-01 looks attractive.

21 upvotes

Total comments: 758


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